Creating a Turnitin Assignment for Originality Checking
Turnitin is a plagiarism detection tool that scans student work for matched text by comparing the work to a large database of student work, publications, and materials on the internet. By default, Turnitin is integrated with Canvas and available in all Canvas courses.
Use Turnitin AI Detection Tool with Caution
In response to the emergence of AI tools, Turnitin has released an AI detection tool. However, it is important to keep in mind that currently no software can detect AI-generated text with 100% certainty. Instructors should not use AI detection tools as a definitive way to gauge misconduct. Turnitin states: “[W]e must emphasize that the percentage on the AI writing indicator should not be used as the sole basis for action or a definitive grading measure by instructors.”
For more information, please see AI writing guides.
Two Turnitin Tools Integrated in Canvas
Turnitin has two different integrations with Canvas that allow instructors to choose which workflow and tools work best to fulfill the needs and objectives of their assignments:
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Turnitin Feedback Studio: Turnitin Feedback Studio is available for Canvas assignments. When using Turnitin Feedback Studio, you create the assignment and your students submit the assignment from within Canvas, but all use of rubrics, feedback tools, and scoring takes place in Turnitin. Turnitin Feedback Studio is best used if faculty prefer to use Turnitin for grading and feedback.
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Turnitin Plagiarism Framework: For instructors who would like to receive a Turnitin similarity report on their student submissions while continuing to use Canvas's built-in tools for rubrics, feedback, peer review and scoring. Incorporating the Plagiarism Framework into a Canvas assignment is quick and easy, and you can use it for group assignments.
For more information, please see Feedback Studio with Canvas comparison chart.
Using Turnitin Feedback Studio in Canvas
Note: As of July 15, 2025, the new version of Turnitin Feedback Studio is available for instructors. You have the option to use either the new version or continue with the classic version in your course.
For more information about the New Turnitin Feedback Studio, please refer to this article. To understand which classic features are not supported in the new experience, review this article and choose the version that best fits your teaching needs.
Step 1: Navigate to the course you would like to add the assignment to.
Step 2: Go to the Assignment page in your Canvas course by selecting Assignments on the course navigation menu.
Step 3: Look for the vertical three dots to the right of the blue '+ Assignment' button and select Turnitin.
Step 4: When selecting to create a new assignment, a modal will appear allowing you to select the assignment type.
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New Standard Assignment - Select the "Try Now" button on the top blue banner.
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Classic Standard Assignment - Select the Standard Assignment tile with the "Classic" label.
Using Turnitin Plagiarism Framework in Canvas
Step 1: Navigate to the course you would like to add the assignment to.
Step 2: In the course navigation menu of your Canvas site, click Assignments.
Step 3: Click +Assignment. Name the assignment and add a description. Set Points, Assignment Group, and what you want the grade to be displayed as.
Step 4: Set the Submission Type to Online. Check Text Entry or File Uploads. If you want to ensure that students are submitting file in which Turnitin can generate a similarity report, choose to Restrict Upload File Types to readable text files such as pdf, doc, docx, pptx, etc.
Step 5: After you set the submission type, the Plagiarism Review drop-down will appear. Click Turnitin Plagiarism Framework.
Step 6 : Choose Turnitin Plagiarism Framework settings.
Step 7: Choose if you would like to Save these settings as default settings and when you want to show the Similarity Report to students.
Step 8: Choose if this is going to be a Group Assignment, if you want to use Canvas Peer Review, and if you want to enable Anonymous Grading.
Step 9: Select Save & Publish to publish this assignment. Select Save to save the assignment.
Instructors can access the Similarity Reports in SpeedGrader. For more information on how to access the Similarity Report with Canvas Plagiarism Framework, please see this guide. For detailed instructions, please see Navigating the Similarity Report and Understanding the Similarity Report.
Interpreting Similarity Reports
A Similarity Report is a summary of any matching or similar areas of text found in a submitted paper against any text matches from other sources, including periodicals, journals, publications, websites, and other student papers. Turnitin checks submissions against a database, if there are instances where student's writing is like or matches against another source, it will be flagged in the similarity report. For detailed instructions, please see:
Additional Resources
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